Tag: 3BL

PORT CHESTER, NY, January 29, 2025 /3BL/ – Today, KeyBank, a Fortune 500 company with regional headquarters in Tarrytown NY, celebrated the opening of its newest branch office located at 1 North Main Street, Port Chester NY, with a ribbon cutting ceremony attended by bank leaders, local business owners and community partners.

“Opening this branch has been a journey that started more than a year ago with a vision to expand our presence in Westchester County and bring our exceptional banking services and community-focused values to Port Chester,” said KeyBank Regional Retail Executive Louis Hoxha. “It is exciting to be in the beautiful Main and Port residential community in the heart of a vibrant business and retail district.”

Hoxha went on to say “Westchester County is an important part of our Hudson Valley/Metro NY market and New York is the largest state we do business in — in fact, the roots of KeyBank go back 200 years to Albany NY. This new branch is a meaningful symbol of our continued commitment to this region.”

Village of Port Chester Trustee and Deputy Mayor Phil Dorazio offered congratulatory remarks, saying how important it is to have a local bank in the community. “I’m a small business owner, and Port Chester thrives on our small businesses. To have KeyBank here in this beautiful new building means a lot to our village.” Dorazio went on to say “Even before the doors opened and there was still brown paper on the windows, the people of KeyBank were already out in our community, sponsoring and attending events, and meeting people and businesses in the neighborhood. The fact that they have staffed this branch with Latinos and Spanish-speaking bankers to help this heavily Spanish community, which is the backbone of our village, is a real plus.”

Port Chester Village Manager and Chamber of Commerce board member Stuart Rabin echoed Trustee Dorazio’s remarks. “North Main Street and Westchester Avenue are very important to the Village and are areas that we are revitalizing for a new tomorrow. It is so exciting to have KeyBank here in this cornerstone piece of property in our downtown center. We wish you the best of luck here.”

The celebration included the presentation of a $10,000 community grant to Port Chester-based Project Morry, a nonprofit that provides academic enrichment, leadership development, and a residential summer learning experience for children grade fourth through twelve. KeyBank’s fund will help support the organization’s College and Career Readiness Program, guiding more than 150 economically disadvantaged students from 8th grade through their first year after high school graduation.

Project Morry Executive Director Dawn Ewing accepted the grant, saying “We are so thrilled to be welcoming KeyBank to the Port Chester community. Their clear goal of not only supporting the work of the local nonprofits like Project Morry, but truly being a part of the community itself separates them from so many other institutions. We look forward to being their partner as they begin their time here in Port Chester.”

KeyBank’s new 3,975 square foot full-service branch will provide clients with a full range of financial products and services, including personal and business banking, investment solutions, and mortgage lending. The facility will include state-of-the-art banking technology, a walk-up ATM, metered parking in front of the branch and free nearby parking, and a gathering room available for use by community groups upon request. This newest location represents KeyBank’s continued commitment to enhancing access to comprehensive financial services for individuals, families and businesses throughout the Westchester and Hudson Valley region. Doors opened to the public on Monday, January 27th.

ABOUT KEYCORP

In 2025, KeyCorp celebrates its bicentennial, marking 200 years of service to clients and communities from Maine to Alaska. To learn more, visit KeyBank Heritage Center. 

Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Key is one of the nation’s largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $187 billion at December 31, 2024. Key provides deposit, lending, cash management, and investment services to individuals and businesses in 15 states under the name KeyBank National Association through a network of approximately 1,000 branches and approximately 1,200 ATMs. Key also provides a broad range of sophisticated corporate and investment banking products, such as merger and acquisition advice, public and private debt and equity, syndications and derivatives to middle market companies in selected industries throughout the United States under the KeyBanc Capital Markets trade name. For more information, visit https://www.key.com/. KeyBank Member FDIC.

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CONTACT: 

Karen Crane | Regional Communications Manager | 203-789-2752| karen_crane@keybank.com

Incluso si tu año nuevo comenzó en grande, quizás ahora estés preocupándote silenciosamente por las metas financieras que te planteaste a ti mismo y cómo alcanzarlas. Por suerte, no eres el único.

“El dinero puede ser un tema muy difícil para algunas personas”, afirma Chad Wolfe, asesor en finanzas y especialista en préstamos estudiantiles de My Secure Advantage, un programa de asesoramiento financiero ofrecido a los empleados de T-Mobile a través del sitio web de bienestar integral LiveMagenta. “La situación cambia todos los años y puede ser abrumador”.

Un cambio que puede hacer que las cosas sean menos abrumadoras, afirma Chad, es la nueva tendencia de responsabilidad financiera llamada “loud budgeting”, que está arrasando en las redes sociales y cuyo objetivo es erradicar el aislamiento que la gente puede sentir en cuanto a problemas de dinero.

Esta tendencia consiste en hablar abiertamente sobre tus decisiones financieras y cuándo saber decir no a cosas que no se alinean con tus metas. No solo es rechazar la invitación de tus amigos a unirte a una costosa salida nocturna, sino también explicar de forma honesta por qué esto te aleja de tus metas. Esta tendencia te empodera para que pongas límites y alcances el bienestar financiero con comodidad emocional, señala Wolfe.

“Creo que si puedes encontrar un sentido de comunidad que te permita tener esa libertad para ser honesto sobre tus metas y lo que posiblemente no estés haciendo para alcanzarlas, eso es genial”, explica Wolfe. “Me gusta pensar en esto como reemplazar ‘FOMO’, o el ‘miedo a perderse algo’, con ‘JOMO’, o la ‘alegría de perderse algo’”.

Un cambio cultural: “loud budgeting” en acción

Giovanna González, autora de gran éxito y educadora financiera que se enfoca en la generación Z, adoptó temprano el “loud budgeting”. En su libro Cultura & Cash, ofrece consejos prácticos en lenguaje sencillo a otras latinas de primera generación, así como a estudiantes y jóvenes profesionales, sobre cómo administrar su dinero con seguridad, pagar sus deudas, crear riqueza generacional y alcanzar la libertad financiera.

“El lenguaje que usas importa”, afirma González. “En vez de decir ‘no puedo permitírmelo’, prueba decir ‘eso no es una prioridad para mí en este momento’. Cambia la emoción de gastar dinero de un lugar de vergüenza y escasez, a sentirte en control y con claridad en tus metas financieras”.

El apoyo de tu comunidad puede ser clave para alcanzar las metas financieras, afirma ella. González recientemente encuestó a usuarios en redes sociales para ver si considerarían compartir un plan con amigos y familiares para ahorrar en un teléfono nuevo o en el costo por línea. La respuesta fue abrumadoramente afirmativa: el 82% de los encuestados dijo que sí. De hecho, el 63% dijo que ya comparte un plan telefónico, y el 71% de los participantes en la encuesta dijo que ha conservado un teléfono viejo o dañado por más tiempo del que hubiera querido debido al costo de reemplazarlo.

“Los resultados de la encuesta concuerdan con mi propia experiencia”, señaló González. “Compartí un plan telefónico con mi mamá y dos hermanos por cinco años para ahorrar en gastos”.

Haz rendir más tu dinero con ahorros inteligentes

A lo largo de los años, Wolfe ha compartido muchos consejos sobre presupuestos, desde ahorrar para un fondo de emergencia hasta saldar las deudas de interés alto y maximizar los aportes a la cuenta individual de jubilación (IRA). Ahora, hace hincapié en que hablar libremente sobre tus metas financieras —y ahorrar de forma inteligente para alcanzarlas— puede contribuir a tus finanzas.

Wolfe también afirma que la gente debería fijarse dónde puede combinar gastos para obtener un descuento (un consejo que compartió el año pasado también). Según Forbes, las personas en EE. UU. por lo general gastan $46 por mes en servicios de streaming. En vez de cancelar las suscripciones, combinarlas es una manera más fácil y conveniente de ahorrar mientras sigues disfrutando del entretenimiento. Los clientes de Metro Flex Plus, por ejemplo, obtienen acceso a una membresía de Amazon Prime como parte de su plan, un ahorro de $14.99 por mes. Sin mencionar otros incentivos cada semana con T-Mobile Tuesdays a través de la app T-Life, como entradas para el cine con descuento, ahorros en combustible Shell y mucho más.

Con un poco de “loud budgeting” y la ayuda de planes excelentes como Metro Flex Plus, puedes encontrar maneras creativas de obtener lo que quieres a la vez que sigues avanzando hacia tus metas financieras.

CHARLESTON, S.C., January 29, 2025 /3BL/ – Gildan is pleased to donate U.S.$200,000 worth of American Apparel® and Gildan® garments to FireAid, a concert benefiting those affected by the ongoing wildfires in Los Angeles, California. Shirts and hoodies will be available for purchase at the event with all funds from their sale going directly to short-term relief efforts as well as long-term initiatives to prevent future fire disasters in Southern California.

“At Gildan, we believe in making apparel responsibly and supporting the communities in countries where we operate,” said Chuck Ward, President, Sales, Marketing and Distribution at Gildan. “Our hearts go out to everyone, who has been affected by the wildfires in Southern California, and we are pleased to contribute to the relief efforts through our donation to the FireAid concert.”

Scheduled for January 30, FireAid features two star-studded lineups held at Intuit Dome and Kia Forum in Los Angeles. FireAid will also be broadcast and streamed across multiple platforms, as well as in select AMC Movie Theaters.

For more information on how to purchase tickets and donate to recovery efforts, visit fireaidla.org.

To learn more about Gildan’s commitment to its communities, please visit the Company’s website.

About Gildan 

Gildan is a leading manufacturer of everyday basic apparel. The Company’s product offering includes activewear, underwear and socks, sold to a broad range of customers, including wholesale distributors, screenprinters or embellishers, as well as to retailers that sell to consumers through their physical stores and/or e-commerce platforms and to global lifestyle brand companies. The Company markets its products in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America, under a diversified portfolio of Company-owned brands including Gildan®, American Apparel®, Comfort Colors®, GOLDTOE®, and Peds®, and under an exclusive licensing agreement for the printwear channel for Champion®.

Gildan owns and operates vertically integrated, large-scale manufacturing facilities which are primarily located in Central America, the Caribbean, North America, and Bangladesh. Gildan operates with a strong commitment to industry-leading labor, environmental and governance practices throughout its supply chain in accordance with its comprehensive ESG program embedded in the Company’s long-term business strategy. More information about the Company and its ESG practices and initiatives can be found at www.gildancorp.com.

As previously seen on the CSRHub blog.

By Bahar Gidwani

Founded in 2017 and based in Perth, Australia, Sustainable Platform is a SaaS database that provides access to crucial and transparent sustainability & SDG (UN Sustainable Development Goal) performance data for thousands of global companies. We recently brought Sustainable Platform’s data on 23,000 entities into CSRHub’s big data consensus ESG ratings system.

One of Sustainable Platform’s foci is providing feedback on company performance relative to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. It also offers metrics on social, environmental, and sustainable technology performance. We were particularly interested in an indicator of an entity’s greenwashing activity.

We have always been concerned that our ratings might be influenced by greenwashing. (Per the UN: “Greenwashing is a deceptive practice where companies make misleading claims about their environmental impact to gain market share.”) Our ratings get input from many stakeholders who could be influenced by a greenwashing company’s deceptions. We hoped that having multiple sources with different perspectives would guard us against greenwashing effects. But we had no good way to check.

We matched Sustainable Platform’s assessment of greenwashing activity to CSRHub’s Overall Rating for 17,138 entities. We were pleased to see an indication that greenwashing seems to have very little direct effect on our ratings.

Greenwashing May Have Only a Small Effect on CSRHub Scores

Sustainable Platform Greenwashing Risk Level# of Matched EntitiesAverage CSRHub Overall Rating *Low13,59649.5Moderate2,85249.6High69050.0

* Average rating for September 2024.

We love to see new ideas—new ways to examine how entities are responding to the demands from their stakeholders for information and better social performance. We will soon release an SDG “calculator”—a way to estimate what an entity’s performance may look like from the perspective of the UN’s SDG system.

We hope to match this to Sustainable Platform’s direct observation of entity SDG performance. We can then both check the quality of our tool and look for places where company reporting to SDGs is not being understood by our ESG ratings community.

Statistical Analysis on Greenwashing Impact

We checked to see if the half-point difference between high-risk and the other levels was significant. We saw a z-score of -1.6 when we compared the means for the moderate and high scores.

This suggests there is about a 95% chance they are different and that the high-score entities do get a small benefit from their greenwashing activity.

About CSRHub

CSRHub offers the most comprehensive global set of Consensus ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) ratings, information, and tools. CSRHub’s business intelligence system measures the ESG business impact that drives corporate and investor sustainability decisions.  Founded in 2007, CSRHub covers 57,528 public and private companies, and provides ESG performance scores on over 38,833 companies from 134 industries in 156 countries. Our Big Data platform uses algorithms to aggregate, normalize and weight ESG metrics from 967 sources to produce a strong consensus signal on corporate sustainability performance. Interested in learning more about CSRHub? Click here.

About Sustainable Platform

Sustainable Platform provides independent sustainability data and metrics on public and private companies to institutional investors and insurance companies globally. Since 2017, SP has offered asset owners and managers—with over $20 trillion under management—up-to-date sustainability data through its proprietary software and analytics. SP’s platform delivers unique, scientifically driven ways to measure risks, enhance portfolios, and independently verify if companies and funds align with their policies and mandates.

Celebrating its sixth annual tour, the Curiosity Cube from MilliporeSigma, the U.S. and Canada Life Science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, traveled across North America and Europe during 2024 to fuel curiosity and discovery among visitors.

The 2024 tour brought a new look, to the Curiosity Cube’s exterior and new lessons focused on sustainability. With a new look and lessons, the goal of the Curiosity Cube remained the same: enhance access to science education and foster innovation in the next generation of scientists. Through 282 events, more than 43,000 students in 208 communities across 14 countries learned how they can impact the planet by making sustainable choices through hands-on experiments led by real-life scientists at MilliporeSigma.

What does the Curiosity Cube have in store for 2025? Stay tuned for exciting news to come!

To learn more about the Curiosity Cube mobile science lab, visit TheCuriosityCube.com and follow the Curiosity Cube on Instagram @curiositycube_milliporesigma. 

Get ready for one of the most anticipated gatherings of corporate communicators this year! Corporate Communications: Driving the Business Forward, hosted by The Conference Board, will take place on March 6-7, 2025, in Brooklyn, NY, bringing together Fortune 500 Chief Communications Officers and industry leaders to address the biggest challenges of our time: technological, political, economic, environmental, and more. 

After selling out in 2024, this year’s event is expected to fill up fast, so be sure to register early! 3BL Members enjoy an exclusive $500 savings with code 3BLVIP—offer ends February 14.

Register Now

Featured Speakers Include:

Dave Armon, Executive Vice Chairman, 3BLAllyson Park, Chief Communications Officer, WalmartBeatriz Perez, EVP and Global Chief Communications, Sustainability & Strategic Partnerships Officer, The Coca-Cola CompanyMatthew DiGirolamo, Chief Corporate Affairs & Engagement Officer, L’Oréal North AmericaKatie Hill, Senior Vice President of Communications, National Football LeagueRamon Soto, SVP and Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Northwell HealthTeresa Rasmussen, Chief Executive Officer, ThriventAnd more…

What You’ll Gain:

Inspiring sessions featuring insights from top corporate communications leaders.Practical strategies you can apply to enhance your communication impact.Unmatched networking with peers and trailblazers shaping the future of corporate communications.

Register by February 14 and Save $500

Don’t miss out on the chance to learn from the best, connect with your peers, and prepare for the future of corporate communications!

Register Now

Hygiene and health company Essity has, for the fourth consecutive year, been designated a Diversity Leader by Financial Times. 

The ranking was compiled by the research firm Statista on behalf of the Financial Times by surveying more than 100,000 employees in European companies on five aspects of diversity: gender, sexual orientation, age, ethnicity and disability.

“Diversity is an ongoing commitment and an important investment for employees, companies and the world around us. Diversity and inclusion are business-critical as they contribute to better decision-making and thus better results,” says Pia Höök, VP Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Essity. 

Listen to Essity’s podcast Courageous Conversations here. 

More information about the Financial Times Diversity Leader ranking can be found here.

For additional information please contact: Malin Herrmann Geijer, Media Relations Manager, +46 706 17 05 88, malin.herrmann@essity.com

Originally published on U.S. Bank company blog

We’ve all received emails claiming that we’ve won an amazing prize, but when Conner Tadlock got an email saying he was the grand prize winner of the U.S. Bank Student Scholarship program, he didn’t send it to his spam folder.

“I kind of didn’t believe it at first,” Tadlock said. “I immediately checked online to make sure everything matched up, then I very quickly called my parents to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.”

Tadlock, a sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania, received $20,000 as the grand prize winner in the U.S. Bank scholarship sweepstakes.

“My parents were probably just as excited as I was if not a little more,” he said.

In order to be entered into the sweepstakes, students complete gamified, in-app financial education lessons that can be accessed in a web-based format. Students can also win gift cards for completing challenges and, during 2024, nearly $40,000 was dispersed in incentives. Tadlock’s scholarship was one of seven, totaling $55,000, that were awarded during 2024.

“The money will go straight toward funding my tuition so I can keep focusing on my studies,” said Tadlock, who is majoring in mechanical engineering with minors in mathematics and entrepreneurship.

Tadlock qualified for the grand prize drawing by completing 150 of the financial education modules, which generally take one or two minutes each to finish.

“There were a lot of different topics,” he said. “I tried to challenge myself and branch out into things I hadn’t learned as much about.”

Dallas Luckenbill, who won a $5,000 prize, said he completed more than 100 of the modules.

“I found them to be highly useful,” he said. “It definitely covered basic information but it was useful basic information.”

Luckenbill is a freshman at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln studying emerging media arts.

“My father found out about the scholarship sweepstakes. He wanted to support me,” Luckenbill said. “It was definitely exciting to win $5,000. Any amount helps.”

The U.S. Bank Student Scholarship Program has been running for more than 12 years. The 2025 scholarship will launch Feb. 1 and details will be available on the U.S. Bank Student Scholarship Program website at that time.

DENVER /3BL/ – The DaVita Giving Foundation today announced an investment in the National Kidney Foundation (NKF)’s PEERS program, a program that provides social and emotional support for patients, care partners, and living donors through connections with mentors living through similar experiences.

Prioritizing mental health in chronic disease care is essential, and mentorship can help provide people with support and comfort in a time when they might otherwise feel alone. Studies1 show that social connection can help reduce the risk of chronic disease and other serious illness, and lead to better mental and physical health.

“Receiving a chronic disease diagnosis can be a distressing and emotional experience for patients as well as their loved ones. Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) often manage multiple health conditions at once, and our dedicated care teams come together to support patients throughout their kidney care journey. While the support of care teams and partners is invaluable, nothing quite matches the comfort and understanding that comes from connecting with peers,” remarked Dr. Jeff Giullian, chief medical officer for DaVita, a leading provider of kidney care services. “We celebrate the NKF PEERS program for its commitment to connecting patients with a broader health community, and we are truly grateful to be part of this vital effort.”

Today, more than 356 individuals participate as mentors and mentees in the program, with 81% of participants managing a chronic illness like kidney failure.

“Going through a kidney disease diagnosis, being on dialysis, and getting evaluated for a transplant can be such a lonely process. NKF PEERS helps people in these moments make connections with someone else who’s ‘been there before,'” said Marissa Argentina, patient programs director for the NKF. “Connecting with trained peer mentors who have those lived experiences, can share their stories and are able to be a source of support for someone new to living with kidney disease, dialysis or transplant can make a huge difference.”

Patients living with chronic disease are significantly more likely to experience depression and other mental health conditions2, and studies3 show that social connection improves the psychological well-being of those living with mental health conditions.

“When I first started dialysis, I felt depressed, so I asked my social worker at DaVita if there was a program where I could talk to someone experiencing the same things I was,” said Felicia Tarnecki, DaVita patient and mentee participant in NKF PEERS. “My mentor answered my questions, and we talked on the phone often. It helped me feel less alone and more in control of my health.”

The program connects participants telephonically and provides them with an opportunity to discuss their kidney care journey and ask questions in a comfortable environment with someone who has lived through similar experiences.

“I want to give others the encouragement through their journey that I wish I’d had, because I felt like nobody understood what I was going through,” said Janine Prazza, mentor for the NKF PEERS program and a dual heart and kidney transplant recipient.

To learn more about DaVita’s giving and community partnerships, visit DaVita.com/About. To learn more about support groups and other resources for those affected by kidney disease, visit DaVita.com/Support or Kidney.org/PEERS.

About DaVita Inc. 
DaVita (NYSE: DVA) is a health care provider focused on transforming care delivery to improve quality of life for patients globally. As a comprehensive kidney care provider, DaVita has been a leader in clinical quality and innovation for more than 20 years. DaVita cares for patients at every stage and setting along their kidney health journey—from slowing the progression of kidney disease to helping to support transplantation, from acute hospital care to dialysis at home. As of June 30, 2024, DaVita served approximately 265,100 patients at 3,124 outpatient dialysis centers, of which 2,672 centers were located in the United States and 452 centers were located in 13 other countries worldwide. DaVita has reduced hospitalizations, improved mortality, and worked collaboratively to propel the kidney care industry to adopt an equitable and high-quality standard of care for all patients, everywhere. To learn more, visit DaVita.com/About.

Media Contact: 
DaVita Newsroom 
newsroom@davita.com

1Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2024, March 27). Social Connection. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved October 2, 2024, from https://www.cdc.gov/social-connectedness/about/index.html 
2Based on 2021 data. John’s Hopkins (2021, December 16). The Intersection of Mental Health and Chronic Disease. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2021/the-intersection-of-mental-health-and-chronic-disease 
3Based on 2017 data. Harandi TF, Taghinasab MM, Nayeri TD. The correlation of social support with mental health: A meta-analysis. Electron Physician. 2017 Sep 25;9(9):5212-5222. doi: 10.19082/5212. PMID: 29038699; PMCID: PMC5633215.

SOURCE DaVita

Originally published by Inc.com

IBM Artificial Intelligence Fundamentals Certification

This is a course that includes test questions and it’s fairly comprehensive. It takes about ten hours to complete.

This certification covers topics like how AI makes predictions, understands language and images, and learns using circuits inspired by the human brain. You will also gain hands-on experience by building and testing a machine learning model using IBM Watson Studio. The program concludes with actionable tips for pursuing a career in AI. This certification is free and takes about 10 hours.

Continue reading here.